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Monitors
This article covers monitor overclocking. Overclocking varies by monitor, and by graphics card. There aren't really hard and fast rules, and generally you won't find a guide specific to your model. However, the practices are all basically the same. Quick Overview Basically, we're going to use software to raise the refresh rate of the monitor. This will cause a different signal to be sent to the panel, at the higher refresh rate. This will either work, or it won't. If it won't work there may be a few symptoms/reasons: * Input not accepted. If the monitor gives a message like this on screen, it simply means it is rejecting the overclock. This most likely means the monitor is locked, though some panels may overclock up to a point then reject a higher signal. * Frame skipping. This is the most likely scenario if the overclock goes too far. It simply means the scaler firmware in the panel is unable to handle that refresh rate, and is missing some frames. Though harmless, it obviously means the overclock isn't going to work with those settings. Usually, but not always, it will be every other frame that is skipped. * Artifacting. Some monitors will artifact at a higher refresh rate. This may be a strange coloration, flickering, or distortion. This could mean some part of the monitor is overheating, and is probably to be avoided. * Black screen or loss of signal. Typically the signal will be lost for a second or three then recovered. This means the bandwidth limit of the connection has been exceeded. Sometimes a different display connector, cable, or software settings will get around it. If all the above works correctly and all tests give good picture, then the OC has been successful. Stress Testing Stress testing the monitor should be done first at stock, and then when it's overclocked. Unlike with a chip, the monitor stress test isn't a long duration thing. Simply run the visual tests, and visually inspect them yourself to make sure the monitor is working correctly. Thus, the guide begins here. The primary stress tool at the moment is the UFO test site. Start at the frame rate page and check the monitor frame rate is as you expect. Look through the other pages and get an idea of what effects you can expect from your panel under strange conditions; simply comparing the stock to overclocked results by eye will probably let you see if there's artifacting. Finally, go to the frame skip test - the main tool for overclocking, as frame skipping is the primary symptom of most monitors. Watch closely (or take a long-frame-time picture with a camera) and ensure that all the frames are being displayed correctly. Setting a Custom Resolution The steps here vary by operating system and by graphics card drivers, making precise instructions impossible. Essentially, we create and then use a custom resolution, consisting of the resolution we want (probably unchanging) along with the desired refresh rate (which will probably be raised). Windows Right click on the desktop, choose display settings, then advanced (check the resolution is correct), display adapter properties, and go to the monitor tab. From here you can choose the refresh rate. Next we must create the custom resolution. Nvidia control panel allows this, as does intel's igpu control panel. But the easiest way is with the Custom Resolution Utility (CRU) by ToastyX. Running the program will bring up the data entries from the registry and allow editing. Editing the monitor data itself will allow control of the freesync range (this is not recommended to extend on most panels). The detailed resolution list is where most monitors can be overclocked, by adding a new entry - AT THE BOTTOM! - with the desired resolution and refresh rate. Use automatic timings, starting with LCD standard or LCD reduced. After closing CRU (hit "okay"), either reboot or use the restart tool. If you run into trouble, run the CRU "reset-all" program to clean out the registry. If that fails, reinstall drivers using Display Driver Uninstaller in safe mode, and then fresh install your drivers. After adding the resolution, repeat the first step to switch to it, and then follow the stress test section to see if it worked. Linux Anyone got a guide for linux? Glossary Pixel Clock If you push the limit of your monitor, knowing your pixel clock is key. The pixel clock is, simply, the number of pixels per second being pushed across the display cable and both ports. A resolution of 1920x1080x120, for instance, is at least a 249 Mhz clock aka 249 million pixels per second (simply multiply the three numbers together). However the actual pixel clock will be a bit higher because of the extra timings data (a few more bits at the start and end of each line and frame). The AMD pixel patcher by ToastyX can help with some AMD drivers, by removing the hard limit on the pixel clock on hdmi and dvi. But limits remain - pushing up against them (overclocking the display cable and connector ports, basically) will eventually fail and either the software will reject the setting, or the signal will be lost, resulting in black screen. * DVI : 165 Mhz (officially 1080@60) on single-link. Unsure on dual-link, but DVI tends to "overclock" better than HDMI before losing signal. Dual-link digital signal should usually work at 1080@144 or 1440@60-100. * HDMI 1.4 : 340 mhz (1080@120 or 1440@60). It tends to fail below this level, though. Having one hdmi2 port and one hdmi1 port may give better results. * DisplayPort and HDMI2.0 : 600 mhz (1440@144 or 2160@60).